Chile culture

This post will not have pretty pictures or be as exciting as our other posts. It is more a reflection.....

Having only been in Chile for a short time I have a few observations about how life differs here to life in Australia. I’m sure I will soon see that some of these things are common in other countries but they have struck me here first.

People are encouraged to walk, evidence of this is not exactly people walking but the number and frequency of pedestrian crossings. They are everywhere, on every intersection, in every town no matter how small.  This is a good thing if one is not driving.

There are tonnes of street dogs, they do not seem vicious or troubling, just after scraps, inclined to follow one and sometimes to bark a bit.

Obviously much road work has to occur durning the short summer months. We have seen a lot of it, every trip of a few hours involves at least 20 minutes of waiting for road work. There are also a lot of workers cleaning up beside the roads. 

Which brings me to my next observation, there is a lot of service work here. For example we have used large supermarkets a few times, and at the check out you have one person to scan and another to pack (who you need to tip), even in the self service (10 items or less) you scan the items yourself and take a small receipt to the cashier who then takes your cash.

Loos take only human waste, the paper etc goes in a basket by the loo. Also there is often only one large loo roll at the entry, you take your share and then enter the cubical.

Children are important, people love them, and Samuel attracts many comments and people talk to him. Pregnant women and families with small children get accelerated through queues. Also I have seen more than one father carry his child up a mountain trail just in his arms.

I always knew bike riders were crazy and committed (look at those in Le Tour de France). This place attracts the most committed of the type: lean, sinewy, sunburned, determined people who ride with panniers full, in all weather, no matter what. While the ride would be worth it, I’m not sure I could conceive of doing it. Today we even saw a family, mum and dad each with a kid on the back and a smaller kid maybe seven riding by themselves - all with panniers and equipment. You’d have to train them up, not to mention yourself. 

Building codes are very different. Seems one can put homes as close to one another as one likes, rooms can be small, poked here and there, stair cases uneven and steep and even sans hand rails in some places. I’ve even seen a large panel marked ‘asbestosis’.

The people are so friendly and will help all they can with our non existent Spanish.

Of the two good conversations I have had with English speaking Chileans I learned two things:

1. One Chilean is very concerned about climate change. He said he felt that climate change is affecting the Southern Hemisphere more than the northern, citing their melting glaciers and our heat waves in Australia. Hope was concerned that the north will not perceive until it is too late.
   
2. A lovely Chilean woman, Tatiana, says Chilean women are troubled by the multiple demands of motherhood, work, home etc at the expense of being wives and even themselves. She said even in a place as tranquil and restful as her home it is hard to take time for oneself. 

Picture taken from our bathroom window at Villa Amengual